Food storage box with compartmentalized tray for meals on-the-go with built in nutritional guide and portion control

ABSTRACT

The current invention is a food storage box for meals on-the-go and consists of a plastic clam shell box which houses a food tray. The food tray has a plurality of compartments or food wells to receive a variety of foods. The tray provides a visual nutritional guide using graphics and/or labels on the surface of the bottom of each food well to assist the user in packing a nutritionally balanced meal. Each food well is specifically sized to accommodate the appropriate portion sizes for specific age groups or special diets. The interior lid is fitted with a rubber over-mold which, when closed, fits snugly around each food well and around the perimeter of the tray to prevent food from mingling or leaking out of the box and therefore seals the contents of all food wells with a singular lid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a meals on-the-go food container andmore particularly to a food container which houses a removable tray withplurality of food wells. The food tray provides the user with anutritional guide by means of graphic application to the surface of eachfood well. Furthermore each food well is scientifically proportioned tohold the appropriate food volume per specific age group and dietaryneeds. The combination of a visual nutritional packing guide andintegrated portion control assists the user in packing a nutritionallybalanced meal. The present invention also relates to a food storagecontainer that seals multiple food wells with a singular rubberover-molded lid, thereby holding food in place and preventing any foodor food juice to spill or mingle.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Meals-on-the-go food containers include: traditional lunch boxes, bentoboxes, reusable and disposable food storage containers, brown paper bagsand plastic bags. There is a great variety of products in today'smarketplace that function as meal carriers. These containers include arange of features such as thermal control, multiple compartments anddivider structures and closing mechanisms. The variety of materials isjust as great, spanning from metal to plastic and fabric. The decorativeelement used on the food containers is often applied to amuse andbeautify the object. Nonetheless there exists a need for a compactportable unit which will allow the user to conveniently pack, store andneatly transport a variety of foods to achieve a nutritionally balancedmeal.

All over the world the meals on-the-go eating trend is on the rise. Agrowing number of adults and children need to pack and bring their ownmeals for economic, practical and health reasons. With the currentobesity rates on the rise there is a need for a product that educatesand guides the user to pack a nutritionally balanced meal. The currentinvention satisfies a gap in the market place for a product thatfacilitates packing a meal with its improved functionality. In addition,by means of the current invention's nutritional packing system (asexplained in paragraphs 0033-0034) as an educational component, itprovides a new tool to users interested in reinforcing healthy eatinghabits in a fun and practical way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the current invention is to provide a meals on-the-go foodcontainer that is designed to facilitate the preparation, storage,transport and serving of nutritionally balanced meals.

To achieve the stated objectives, the present invention provides acompact plastic box comprising of an external clam shell box on a hingewith rounded edges and latch closure. Furthermore the interior top lidis constructed with a built-in rubber over-mold to achieve the desiredsealing mechanism. The interior of the box houses a removablecompartmentalized plastic tray which provides a built-in nutritionalguide. The tray houses a plurality of food wells scientificallyproportioned to receive food volume specific to a target age group ordietary need. The tray is molded and hollow on the bottom interior sideto minimize the weight of the invention. The before mentioned rubberover-mold is designed to tightly, yet easily, fit around the edges ofeach compartment, ensuring proper seal between the compartments and theouter edges.

The said built-in nutritional guide is graphically represented on thebottom surface of each food well. This creates an original user friendlyvisual guide which enables the user to pack a balanced meal by followingthe built-in nutritional guide.

In addition to the nutritional guide, the current invention alsoincorporates built-in portion control. Each food well is proportionedand sized for age and diet appropriate serving sizes. As the portionsare predetermined or fixed, the user's method for packing a balancedmeal is simplified using the built-in portion control system.

Furthermore the present invention improves the transport of mealson-the-go by providing a leak proof multi-compartmentalized foodcontainer. The meal box of the current invention houses a food tray witha plurality of food wells. The current invention is fitted to theinterior with a singular rubber over-molded lid. Its singular lid withmulti-compartment sealing mechanism ensures no interior cross-spillbetween the compartments and no leakage outside of the box.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is comprised of five separate parts, thatcohesively create unique functionality of use.

The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inventionitself however, both as to its built-in nutritional guide and packingsystem as well as the sealing mechanism, together with further objectsand advantages thereof, may best be understood with reference to thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the meals on-the-go box in a closedposition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the meals on-the-go box in an openposition;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the meals on-the-go box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is perspective view of the underside of the box lid with rubberover-mold of the meals on-the-go box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is perspective stand alone view of the interior tray of the mealson-the-go box shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective stand alone view of the side and underside ofthe tray;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the meals on-the-go box with view ofexterior base;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodimentof the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiment set forth herein. Rather, this embodiment is provided so thatthis application will be thorough and complete, and will fully conveythe true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout the figures.

The apparatus of this invention is referred generally in FIG. 1-7 as thereference numeral 10 and is intended to provide a food storage containerused as a meals on-the-go box with a removable tray which houses aplurality of compartments for separating food products positionedtherein. Said food tray has an integrated nutritional packing systemdescribed in detail below. Furthermore it is intended to be sealed witha singular rubber over-molded lid. It should be understood that theapparatus 10 may be used to maintain food presentation during travel,prevent leaks and co-mingling of food items.

Referring initially to FIG. 2, the present invention is a plastic clamshell box 10 with smooth rounded edges with roughly equal hollow halvescomprised of a lid 12 and a base 14. The lid 12 and the base 14 aresecured with a hinge 16 and therefore rotate relative to one another toaccess the interior of the box 10. The hinge 16 is constructed to enablethe lid 12 to be removed from the base 14, if desired. This improvedfunctionality may be useful for cleaning. The box 10 is closed byutilizing the latch 18 attached to the lid 12 which engages with thebase 14 which has a protruding lip 20 to receive the latch 18.Furthermore, the exterior base 14 is fitted with four rounded slightprotrusions 38, as seen in FIG. 7, whose function is to stabilize thebox 10 when in use.

Referring to FIG. 2 The base 14 of the box 10 houses a removablecompartmentalized food tray 22 which is divided into a plurality of foodwells 24 a-f (referred collectively as 24 hereafter) and described inmore detail below. When the box 10 is open as in FIG. 2 the lid 12 willrest flat and in line with the base 14. The box 10 is made of all foodsafe plastic and rubber materials and its dimensions are roughly 8inches long ×6 inches wide ×2 inches deep.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lid 12 is rectangular with a plurality of sidewalls 32 shown in FIG. 6, which extend downwardly. When closed, the lid12 covers roughly half the height of the tray 22 which rests on the base14 of the box 10. On the interior side of the lid 12 are extruded ridges28, as shown in FIG. 4, which mirror the shape of the food wells 24.

Referring to FIG. 4, the ridges 28 on the interior of the lid 12 aid thesealing mechanism by providing added pressure to the rubber over-mold 26to achieve a tight seal. The rubber over-mold 26 is designed to outlinethe food wells 24 and to fit over the ridges 28. The rubber over-mold 26is bound to the ridges 28 to achieve a seal when the lid 12 is closedover the tray 22 and fastened with the latch 18 closure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the core element of the invention lies in theembodiment of the removable food tray 22, which is structured toaccommodate a plurality of food wells 24 and designed to work with therubber over-mold 26 seal, as shown in FIG. 4. The key invention is inthe tray 22 assembly, which creates a smart system for composing andstoring nutritionally balanced meals on-the-go.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the tray 22 is substantially rectangular withergonomically curved edges that follow the curve of the exterior boxFIG. 1. One tray wall 32 contains an indentation 30, which accommodatesfor the design of the exterior latch 18 closure.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the tray 22 structure is such that there is ahorizontal plane which houses a plurality of food wells 24. Thehorizontal plane is supported by vertical side walls 32 as seen in FIG.6 extending downwardly 75% of the depth of the tray 22 securing itwithin the base 14 of the box 10. The underside of the majority of thewells 32 has a thin protruding ridge 34 as shown in FIG. 6, that helpsto stabilize the tray 22. The underside of the tray 22 is hollow, asshown in FIG. 6 with the only protrusions being those of the beforementioned tray wells 24. The intentional hollowness reduces the weightof the invention.

Referring again to FIG. 5 and as portrayed in FIG. 2, the bottom half ofthe tray 22 rests snugly within the base 14 of the box 10. When the box10 is in the open position as in FIG. 2 the top half of the tray 22 isexposed enabling the user to easily remove and replace the tray 22. Thesnug fit also limits movement of the tray 22 and helps to preserve themeal presentation.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the surface of the tray 22 mostly smooth,aside from thin ridges 36 that outline the perimeter of each food well24. When the box 10 is in the closed position as in FIG. 1, the surfaceridges 36 of the tray 22 engage with the rubber over-mold 26 on theinterior lid 12 to create a seal which prevents food from mingling andalso provides a leak-proof barrier to the exterior of the invention.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the before mentioned food wells 24 are smoothand rounded recessed areas which prevent undesired food deposits andfacilitates the removal of left overs.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the key feature of the tray 24 is thenutritional packing system that it embodies. The food wells 24 of thetray 22 are specifically positioned and graphically marked, applied withthe technology of in mold labeling, to maximize nutritional balance ofthe prepared meal. Each well 24 is assigned to host a specific varietyof foods. For example, one well 24 a may host “fruit” and an apple maybe depicted to represent that specific variety of food. The embodiedgraphic nutritional balance system is used to simplify and guide theuser in packing a healthy meal. In addition, the system reinforces goodeating habits by educating the user on what consists of a healthy meal.Finally, the graphics also beautify the tray 22 making the experience ofpacking and eating the meal more enjoyable.

Referring again to FIG. 5, each well 24 is proportioned for age and dietappropriate serving sizes thereby creating a built-in portion controlsystem to hold a nutritionally recommended food volume amount, sized pertarget age group. The tray therefore contains a unique system thatguides the user to pack a nutritionally balanced meal on the go.

The versatile meals on-the-go box could appeal to a wide range ofindividuals of all ages who carry their meals to day care, school andwork, and to be used for other meals-on-the-go, such as picnics. Theadvantages of the present invention include, without limitation, that:the tray with multiple food wells together with the singular rubberover-molded lid allows for a variety of foods to be kept in their placeduring travel without leaking into neighboring food wells or leakingoutside the apparatus. The tray which houses a plurality ofpre-portioned food wells making up the nutritional guide assistsindividuals in preparing a nutritionally balanced meal and assists withportion control. As a result, foods packed using the meals on-the-go boxwith its visual nutritional guide are therefore healthier; food arrivesin its place undamaged; and meals are presented in a more appetizingmanner.

While the invention has been described with respect to a certainspecific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications andchanges may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. It is intended therefore by the appendedclaims to cover all such modification and changes as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

In particular, with respect to the above description, it is to berealized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the parts of thepresent invention may include variations in size, shape, materials,function, form and manner of operation. The assembly and use of thepresent invention are deemed readily present and obvious to one skilledin the art.

1. A plastic food storage box for meals on-the-go comprising of: (a) aplastic clam shell box with a top and bottom half each with a pluralityof side walls roughly equal in height; (b) a plastic clam shell box seton a hinge; (c) a plastic clam shell box with a one-latch closure; (d) asingular lid with a rubber over-mold which functions as a sealingmechanism for the box keeping food in its place; (e) a plastic clamshell box housing a removable food tray for isolating food productstherein with a unique nutritional packing system.
 2. The meals on-the-gobox of claim 1 wherein the singular lid with rubber over-mold, whenclosed and engaged over the food tray, seals each food well individuallypreventing food from mingling and seals the perimeter of the food traypreventing leaks to the exterior of the box.
 3. The meals on-the-go boxof claim 1 wherein the removable food tray with a plurality of foodwells provides a built-in nutritional packing system with two keycomponents: (a) by means of graphics and labels visible on the surfaceof the bottom of each food well creating a visual guide that simplifiesthe preparation of nutritionally balanced meals; and (b) the pluralityof food wells are sized to accommodate a fixed volume of food suitablefor specific age groups or specific dietary needs and thereforeintegrates portion control for the ease of preparation of healthy meals.